Vacation... Cayman Islands post #1 - arriving on Saturday (July 16)

We're a bit behind on our posting - but only because we've been so busy!  It's hard to post on weekends when we're actually doing something that becomes "blog-worthy"- so now we're trying to catch up.  Since we moved last summer, we didn't get the chance to do an outright vacation.  We actually hadn't been to a beach since our honeymoon - so this year we decided to go to the Cayman Islands.  Charlie had been there over a decade ago with his parents, so he knew it was a nice island - and he also was excited to see it from a "grown-up" perspective.  We got two other couples to come - Katie's friend Sarah (who was her Maid of Honor) and her husband John, and Charlie's good friend Gary and his wife Heidi.  We booked rooms at the Westin on Grand Cayman for just under a week, and couldn't wait for our trip!

We left Saturday morning, July 16th.  Charlie had been in Boston at a training for work up until late Thursday night - so he had Friday off and watched Griffey all day until it was time to board him.  We were both sad to take our puppy to be boarded for such a long time :( - but it sounds like he had fun at Best Friend's Pet Care while we were gone!

Mommy - don't make me go!!!

Our direct flight got us in a little after noon Cayman time, and after we got through customs we took a cab to the hotel.  Charlie had been thinking of renting a car.  They drive on the "wrong" side of the road there,  though, so that idea never came to fruition.  When we got to the hotel, our room wasn't ready, so we just changed into bathing suits and went out to the pool.  John and Sarah had already been there for almost 2 days, and Gary and Heidi had beat us there on their flight from Dayton.  So we had some catching up to do as far as taking in some sun.  We got lunch and drinks from the Westin swim-up bar, and got our first taste of Cayman Island prices!  The food was very good, though.  And we met some of the locals...

After a relaxing afternoon at the pool, we went out to stock up on supplies for the week.  This meant that the girls went to the grocery store, and the boys went to the liquor store.  For some reason, the guys determined they shouldn't go to the liquor store until they'd had a drink at the sports bar right next door, so the girls beat them home.  This actually was a smart move by the gents - as they got some good tips on where to go from the locals.  We then got ready and headed off to our first Cayman Island dinner - Decker's Bar and Grill.

Decker's had an all-you-can-eat lobster special on Saturdays and Tuesdays.  John seemed most excited - he was shooting for 10 lobster tails.  He fell a bit short, but he was the only one to order seconds from the first order of 5.  Charlie can't eat shellfish, so Katie doesn't usually eat shrimp, but she made an exception and went for the all-you-can-eat special.  Charlie seemed a bit confused by the menu and asked if the "chilled banana soup" was cold - though he ordered it and liked it.  He also got the pan-fried snapper over risotto (Sarah had that as well, they were the only two who didn't get the lobster special) - and thought it was excellent.

Don't eat me!

We had gotten a late start and were tired from the day of traveling, so we walked the half-mile home and called it a night!

More to come about our week in the Caymans in the next few posts!